Researching the Aluminum Nitride Etching Process for Application in MEMS Resonators

Yang, Jian; Si, Chaowei; Han, Guowei; Zhang, Meng; Ma, Liuhong; Zhao, Yue; Jin, Ning

doi:10.3390/mi6020281

Cited by 20 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The normal MEMS processes have been used to fabricate this accelerometer. The AlN film is etched by the ICP process with Cl 2 /BCl 3 /Ar [22]. The entire structure is released by the ICP isotropic etching process with SF 6 .…”

Section: Fabricationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Resonant Z-Axis Aluminum Nitride Thin-Film Piezoelectric MEMS Accelerometer

Yang

Zhang

et al. 2019

Micromachines

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In this paper, we report a novel aluminum nitride (AlN) thin-film piezoelectric resonant accelerometer. Different from the ordinary MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) resonant accelerometers, the entire structure of the accelerometer, including the mass and the springs, is excited to resonate in-plane, and the resonance frequency is sensitive to the out-plane acceleration. The structure is centrosymmetrical with serpentine electrodes laid on supporting beams for driving and sensing. The stiffness of the supporting beams changes when an out-plane inertial force is applied on the structure. Therefore, the resonance frequency of the accelerometer will also change under the inertial force. The working principle is analyzed and the properties are simulated in the paper. The proposed AlN accelerometer is fabricated by the MEMS technology, and the structure is released by an ICP isotropic etching. The resonance frequency is 24.66 kHz at a static state. The quality factor is 1868. The relative sensitivity of this accelerometer, defined as the shift in the resonance frequency per gravity unit (1 g = 9.8 m/s2) is 346 ppm/g. The linearity of the accelerometer is 0.9988. The temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) of this accelerometer is −2.628 Hz/°C (i.e., −106 ppm/°C), tested from −40 °C to 85 °C.

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Section: Fabricationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Resonant Z-Axis Aluminum Nitride Thin-Film Piezoelectric MEMS Accelerometer

Yang

Zhang

et al. 2019

Micromachines

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“…In the fabrication, the patterning processes are the key points. The AlN film was etched by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching process with Cl 2 /BCl 3 /Ar [28]. The whole structure was released from Si substrate by ICP isotropic etching process with SF 6 .…”

Section: Fabrication Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Decoupling Design with T-Shape Structure for the Aluminum Nitride Gyroscope

Yang

Han

et al. 2019

Micromachines

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This paper reports a novel design for the decoupling of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) gyroscopes. The MEMS gyroscope is based on piezoelectric aluminum nitride (AlN) film, and the main structure is a mass hung by T-shape beams. A pair of parallel drive electrodes are symmetrically placed on the surface of the vertical bar for driving the oscillating mass. A serpentine sense electrode is placed on the lateral bar. When the gyroscope is oscillating in drive mode, charges with equal quantity and opposite sign will be polarized and distributed symmetrically along the lateral bar. These charges neutralize each other at the sense electrode. Therefore, no coupling signals can be detected from the sense electrode. This design can realize the decoupling between the drive mode and sense mode. In this work, the T-shape decoupled structure was designed as the key component of an AlN piezoelectric gyroscope and the whole structure was simulated by COMSOL Multiphysics 5.2a. The working principle of the decoupling is described in detail. Electrical properties were characterized by the dynamic signal analyzer. According to the test results, the drive mode and the sense mode are decoupled. The coefficient of orthogonal coupling is 1.55%.

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“…Aluminum is a material with great potential for development in micro fabrication, 1,2 especially in various MEMS applications. 3,4 In addition, due to its high strength, acceptable corrosion resistance, and machinability, the aluminum alloys are widely used in building and industry. 5…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wear mechanisms of aluminum 5083/6061/7075 with and without T6 treatment

Chang,

Liu,

Chu

et al. 2023

Advances in Mechanical Engineering

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The application of hardened aluminum alloys on the drive elements must be safe and reliable, T6 treatment is often used to improve their mechanical properties and dimensional stability. However, the impact of T6 treatment on operating life is not easy to evaluate. Hence, the effects of T6 treatment on the wear of aluminum 5083/6061/7075 were studied by a steel ball on disk tester. The results showed that T6 treatment tended to reduce the values of the friction coefficient about 9%. Moreover, T6 treatment had no significant effect on the frequency of the change of the friction coefficient of 5083 and 6061, but significantly affected that of 7075. T6 treatment can also reduce the size of wear particles about 16%. Based on the results, the wear mechanisms of aluminum 5083/6061/7075 with and without T6 treatment are described in this paper.

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Researching the Aluminum Nitride Etching Process for Application in MEMS Resonators

Cited by 20 publications

References 13 publications

A Resonant Z-Axis Aluminum Nitride Thin-Film Piezoelectric MEMS Accelerometer

A Resonant Z-Axis Aluminum Nitride Thin-Film Piezoelectric MEMS Accelerometer

A Decoupling Design with T-Shape Structure for the Aluminum Nitride Gyroscope

Wear mechanisms of aluminum 5083/6061/7075 with and without T6 treatment

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